Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih: Ottoman's Great Strategic Planner

Abstract

This study discusses the war strategies of Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih throughout his rule from the year 1451 until 1481. Al-Fatih was an Ottoman leadership figure who was characterized as wise, of great fame and a leader to be reckoned with. His figure, leadership and wisdom can be seen in his successful war strategies against enemies in each and every military expedition. The objective of this article is to analyze war strategic planning undertaken by Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih in a series of wars and the opening of territories which led to Ottoman's victories and success. This study employed a qualitative method via historical research and content analyzes of primary and secondary sources in the studies of the Ottomans. This study argues that Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih's war strategies were formulated at two stages, namely war strategies formulated before the war and war strategies sketched while the war was on-going. The former was the 'grand strategy' involving political, economic and military manouvres while the latter were planned during war cabinet meetings in the battlefields.